AUGUSTA (NEWSCENTERMaine)-- Maine has a big, new power plant, but most people wouldn't know it was there. There are no smokestacks, no noise and no fuel being shipped in. The fuel comes from the sun.
The new Pittsfield Solar facility went online in late December and dwarfs any other solar farm in Maine.
Cianbro Construction says it is the largest solar project in New England. It has more than 40,000 solar panels, and the company says it will generate enough electricity to power about 6,500 homes.
Cianbro built the project and owns it, and is selling the power to the grid through CMP. The project cost "in the 20 millions of dollars", according to Cianbro chairman Peter Vigue. He says they believe solar power has a big future for Maine and built the project both to make a profit and to refine their skill with the technology.
"We believe in solar and we’re very much aware of the improvements in technology and understand very clearly where the technology is going and what the future will bring.," said Vigue.
He also said the Pittsfield Solar may serve as a sort of advertisement for Cianbro, because they hope to build more. Vigue and Dylan Voorhees of the Natural Resources Council of Maine both said other companies have plans for large, utility-scale solar farms in Maine, some of which would be even bigger than the Pittsfield project.
Vigure said he hopes his company will build them.
Voorhees said that even though there has been controversy over small solar policy in Maine, the steadily growing interest in large projects shows that solar power is "unstoppable".